Event Review: Strictly Sail Chicago
The middle of a sailor’s winter here in the Great Lakes is marked by the occurrence of the Strictly Sail show in Chicago at the end of January. Chicago is the perfect host for such a show, with frozen Lake Michigan as a backdrop, skyscrapers creating one the world’s best skylines and deep dish pizza to feed your hunger. The show itself gives you something to look forward to after the holidays are over and helps you ease into your spring maintenance, repairs and upgrades for the coming sailing season. As the nation’s largest indoor all-sailboat show, there’s literally something there for every kind of sailor. Best In Show: Tartan 4300 While many of my favorite bluewater sailboat builders such as Pacific Seacraft, Valiant and Tayana were not at the show, the Tartan 4300 appealed very well to my salty sensibilities. I have nothing against the higher volume production boat builders like Catalina, Beneteau, Jeanneau and Hunter but you immediately notice a different feel when you step aboa